It wouldn’t be natural for us to expect to get grapes from our strawberry vines, nor would we expect cantaloupes from our blackberry vines because it is obvious that the fruit produced is derived from the vine from which it grows.
So why are we surprised when our children grow up just like us? When the seed is planted and the child is developing in the womb, how we nurture it affects its physical growth. Much like we cultivate the land to prepare for planting our grapevines, so too we must prepare for our baby. From the nutrients and vitamins we provide, to the medical attention we seek on its behalf, these help to determine how healthy our newborn child will be.
Growing fruit on a vine takes planning. We train the vines where to grow so that we can maximize their production. A key to our plant’s growth is sunlight. If we are going to raise our child and expect him or her to grow into a Christian, then we must bring Christ into their lives, who said, “I am the light of the world.” (Jn 8:12)
We often use trellises for support. This gives the vine the strength it needs to support the weight of the grape bunches. We too must give our children basic support in the form of food, clothing, and shelter. And when they feel the weight of the world on their shoulders because of some challenge that’s holding them back, we provide them the most essential form of support which is love. Like the vines, the more support we give them, the easier they are to care for and maintain.
To advance the growth of our vine, we will prune any “sucker” that saps growth from the main vine and is stunting its development. When they first start to grow they may seem like they contribute to the crop, but over time they show their true colors and must be removed.
We sometimes have to remove “suckers” from our children’s lives. They may be a childhood friend who grew up alongside our child, but eventually showed their evil character or a relative who is influencing the child’s development in the wrong way.
It is even more important that we focus on ourselves and how we influence the growth of our child. We are the vines, our children the branches culminating in its fruit.
They will do what we train them to do. That can be bad or good. They can smoke, curse, steal, do drugs, have sex outside of marriage, drink alcohol to extremes; or they can go to Church, help others, be a friend, support worthy causes, protect the weak, or give back to the community. Whatever they do will be influenced by how we contributed to their development.
Through the Holy Spirit, Christ gives us so much fruit in the gifts of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). These same gifts will become the fruit that our children will bear by our example.
We can have unbridled assistance in this immense job if we will call on the Lord for help, for Christ said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)
Let’s be forever thankful and not be afraid to allow the master gardener to guide us in providing the support for our children that will guarantee a bumper crop of sweet fruit for years to come.
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